[koiloco]

^ if you bought new, get it fixed. gluck.

 

[ThurstonX]

  Not the question-asker here, but I've looked at the earpad thread and my head was spinning...  For my head, the velour and the pleather pads are not that comfortable as my ear kind of gets jammed in the stock openings.  I would love to know which oval pad or pad similar to the Alpha Dog pads (my Mad Dogs have them and I LOVE the way they feel on my ears) that don't affect the sound that much, fit reasonably well on the stock rings, and don't affect the sound much are the "consensus" third-part retrofits for the HE-500s.  I prefer the sound of my HE-500s for sure over my Mad Dogs, but it's hard to wear the HEs after taking the Mad Dogs off...  I was looking at the Lawton Audio or the Audeze Vegans or LCD2 leathers, but for that kind of coin, I'd like to hear a few more thoughts on how those sound, etc...

 
jerg's pads (jergulor) are great, if you're willing to make them.  I really like the AKG Q701 pads on my HE-500s.  Can be had for around $35/pair shipped from AKG, if you're in the US.

 

[sperho]

   
jerg's pads (jergulor) are great, if you're willing to make them.  I really like the AKG Q701 pads on my HE-500s.  Can be had for around $35/pair shipped from AKG, if you're in the US.

If the stock pad openings fit my ears better, I might do the jerg mod, but alas, they don't.  I'll have to have a look at the Q701 pads.  What is the inner diameter of the ear hole relative to the stock pads?

 

[ThurstonX]

  If the stock pad openings fit my ears better, I might do the jerg mod, but alas, they don't.  I'll have to have a look at the Q701 pads.  What is the inner diameter of the ear hole relative to the stock pads?

 
Don't know the measurement of the opening, but compared to the stock pads, the drivers definitely don't come close to my ears.  The velour is really nice on these.  If you're interested, contact AKG directly, and ask for part # 2458M12020
 
Frank Rodriguez
Customer Service Administrator
E-mail: frank.rodriguez@harman.com
Phone: 818-920-3279
fax: 818-830-7881

 

[sperho]

   
Don't know the measurement of the opening, but compared to the stock pads, the drivers definitely don't come close to my ears.  The velour is really nice on these.  If you're interested, contact AKG directly, and ask for part # 2458M12020
 
Frank Rodriguez
Customer Service Administrator
E-mail: frank.rodriguez@harman.com
Phone: 818-920-3279
fax: 818-830-7881

 
Thanks for the info - I'll have to give him an email and look into trying them.  How did you attach them to the HFM rings?

 

[ThurstonX]

   
Thanks for the info - I'll have to give him an email and look into trying them.  How did you attach them to the HFM rings?

 
I used carpet tape for extra stickiness, applying it to the Q701 pads, then lining up the rings to be centered, then pressed.  They ain't going anywhere now.  Before making it permanent, I used simple double-stick tape, which was easily removed, in case I didn't like the result.
 
Since I decided to do the back vent and double-stick optional mods that are part of the jergulor mod, I made sure the high part of the Q701 pads was between two of the "tabs" on the HE-500s mounting rings before I secured the two parts.  Sounds complicated, but it's not.  If you need a clearer explanation, I can give one.  Long story short, I want the Q701 pads angled forward, and I don't want the mounting rings to rotate once they're mounted.  If you don't do the back vent mod, there's no need to be that precise.

 

[Lohb]

 
You guys thinking what I'm thinking? Another potential convert to the Emotiva?
 
Should you decide to take the red pill: http://www.head-fi.org/t/629352/he-500-lcd2-d5000-dt770-sr80-on-a-speaker-amp-emotiva-mini-x-a-100-project

I'll be taking the Bottlehead Quickie red pill soon anyway Sonido. I think this is a little gem you have stumbled on that can be inserted in the audio chain.

 

 

[Sonido]

 
I'll be taking the Bottlehead Quickie red pill soon anyway Sonido. I think this is a little gem you have stumbled on that can be inserted in the audio chain.

 

Great to hear! I upgraded my Quickie with the PJCCS upgrade yesterday knowing it wouldn't work as well with the Emotiva due to poor impedance bridging, but I did it for my Quickie and Crack pairing for the HD800. The Crack has a 100K ohm input impedance, whereas the Emotiva has only 10K ohms. The stock Quickie is rated at 2K ohm output impedance and is raised to 4K ohms when you add the PJCCS. For the Quickie + Crack, the preamp output impedance to power amp input impedance ratio is at a solid 1:25 even with PJCCS. They recommend at least a 1:10 ratio, though the bare minimum I've read on some websites state 1:5 or 1:4. Anything lower will mess with the frequency response creating roll offs especially in bass. The stock Quickie and Emotiva sits precariously at 1:5, but when you add the PJCCS, it goes down to 1:2.5. Sure enough when I tried the upgraded Quickie with the Emotiva, the bass was substantially recessed, when in fact the bass got improved with this upgrade when listening through Crack to HD800. Actually, I found Quickie with PJCCS to add body, tactility, and slam to the HD800 bringing it frighteningly close to the HE-500. In fact for me, with this final upgrade, the HD800 does everything the HE-500 was superior in, and then other things the HD800 does far better. I'm pretty certain now that my endgame will be a Bottlehead's TOTL preamp and headphone amp, the BeePre and Mainline for the HD800. Now that I find the HD800 to be on par with the HE-500 in the HE-500 best areas such as bass and tactility, I may end up selling the HE-500 to fund the BeePre and Mainline later this year!

 
So yeah I wouldn't recommend the PJCCS if using with Emotiva, but definitely for a higher impedance amp like the Crack. Surprisingly though, with the PJCCS, pairing the Quickie with the Emotiva did not create noise floor problems that I thought it would with a higher impedance.

 

[daerron]

  Which is the V200 thread you mention above with a lot of folks claiming the HE-500 was a better match with V100 and G109 ?

 
I came across it when I was looking for opinions on the Rega Brio-R driving Hifiman headphones, that was some journey... I remember reading something like that and thought hmm, this is interesting and then I started looking for the Rega posts again so my attention switched elsewhere. I've tried looking again now and I can't find it, so worried it might be a figment of my imagination.. Perhaps the word better is a misnomer on my part, lets just say different. They do appear to differ in sound signature, with the V200 having some colourations where I read some opinions that it gives the V200 its intimate sound stage and warmer signature? But the V200 certainly has the better components that should make it more transparent. Looking at the warmth the Mini-X adds to the sound, the V200 might very well be an excellent match for the HE-500.

 

[jamato8]

I'm very curious on the HE560. When they will be released?
I love my HE500 with the CMA800R amplifier and this will be sure an upgrade.

March.

 

[Chik0240]

 
The white part is where I found my O-ring lost, I can't take the rest of the cracked rings on my HE-500 by phone. sadly I've asked local dealer that these don't have spare parts available, so I get some old foam and DIY the damping for the missing one. Too bad finding these at Hong Kong is not that convenient

 

[jerg]

 
 
The white part is where I found my O-ring lost, I can't take the rest of the cracked rings on my HE-500 by phone. sadly I've asked local dealer that these don't have spare parts available, so I get some old foam and DIY the damping for the missing one. Too bad finding these at Hong Kong is not that convenient

Aren't they just generic teflon washers?
 
You could post in the Hifiman reps thread (http://www.head-fi.org/t/629253/head-direct-hifiman-customer-service-team) asking if they could send you replacement washers?

 

[bearFNF]

  Aren't they just generic teflon washers?
 
You could post in the Hifiman reps thread (http://www.head-fi.org/t/629253/head-direct-hifiman-customer-service-team) asking if they could send you replacement washers?

Just looked at mine (did not take them apart), they look like O-rings to me.  Should be able to get some at the hardware store...should not be too tough to find something that would work.

 

[headphonatic]

Quick question about modding the HE-500, will removing the felt on the back cause the He-500 to deteriorate in any way over time; this includes uncleanliness through mean of dirt, dust, ect.

 

[Nimzerz]

  Quick question about modding the HE-500, will removing the felt on the back cause the He-500 to deteriorate in any way over time; this includes uncleanliness through mean of dirt, dust, ect.

+1, kinda curious about this too, though I've already done it and I am very positive that nothing will happen